Been a while since I had inked my experiences as a blog. Now is the chance to do it, sitting in a hotel called StudioPLUS, using their broadband wireless cable connection. Yes, I’m in the land of Americans. My assignment: On-site coordinator, to operate from Charlotte, North Carolina. (By the time I completed this, I have moved into an apartment. I took exactly 21 days to finish this!)
I was informed about my travel well in advance, but the confirmation on the surety was done a day before I’m to leave. This left just a day to be with my folks – a day – less than 12hrs. I traveled to Madras, the day before the travel, packed and left! A sentence to finish the entire trauma is very unjust! There was lot of emotional stuffs, physical tiredness and everything, even as I re-collect, it is very painful.
I couldn’t express it, but everyone else did.
Reached Airport to take a flight to Bombay, flight got delayed by an hour, which helped me in staying close with my family for some more time… Clock ticked and the time called me to depart. Took the Jet Airways plane to Bombay (Maddy was in the Business class – No one bothered to talk to him!). With him on the plane, every time I went to the loo, I used to recollect his comic sequence in the plane – “Jacuzzi? no no kakku^&*” – from the movie “Naladamayanthi”, and I use to giggle within myself. – Credit to NB for reminding me about this!
With the mobile phone switched on till the time I boarded the plane and hope of making my people in the viewing tower to see me was a great trauma. Gash! Finally, they got the glimpse of the plane and not me standing next to it – whom am I kidding? It was dark and no way possible to notice.
Reached Bombay around 2100hrs – lots of air traffic, so the pilot circled the city once and finally landed. God bless him… Finance capital of India has the busiest airport and a huge one as well! To go from the Domestic terminal to the International terminal, took 15mins in the shuttle. Sigh!
Once in the International terminal I noticed a big queue – for the Delta Airlines to Atlanta. Well, there came a nicely dressed woman officer to inform us that the fight is delayed – just – by 3hrs! Wackow! During that process the customs was cleared and I used that time to speak to all people before I can board the plane… My bill should have gone for a SIX! Let’s see how much it comes up to?!
I finally boarded the plane at 0245hrs on Nov 5th, from Bombay. The feeling of leaving the place which saw me grow up weighed on me along with the pressure built during take-off – well not mine, the pressure inside the plane, you perverts … IO IO!
Dinner was served at around 0400hrs, quite a time to have it… It was tasty and I was tired, three in a seat and I’m in the middle, you can imagine… There were lots of people from Jimmy Carter’s Habitat program in the plane, like the person sitting next to me, near the window. His name was Al. On the other side was an old lady! Plight – miserable. Air hostess – very miserable, but their service was good. ;-)
Each of us had viewer before us and it played 12 channels with one channel dedicated to the course of the plane, statistics of altitude, pressure, speed (measuring > 800odd mph), temperature (-52F) and time for destination. The rest were Video, Music and some more. The video channel played the same 6 movies over and over, again and again! The only watchable movie was Cars!
It could have taken the staright route over the Arabian sea through the Sahara and over the Atlantic... But it went over Afghan, over Dubai, Over England and touched Green Land and then touched NY, and Al explained that it may be due to the reason “If we are suppose to crash, we would better do it on the land than in the water!” Immigration/Security was done at New York; it took about 2hours, there. And the next stop was Atlanta – The world’s biggest Airport! I met the GM of Delta Airways, Swiss, in the train (used to travel across terminals = huge terminal!), he is an Indian from Goa, was GM in Swiss, then went to Belfast, now settled in Atlanta for the past 6yrs…
I had to wait at the Atlanta airport to get my next plane to Charlotte. And it was almost 1600hrs when I reached Charlotte.
All throughout the journey, my stomach grumbled many times, not for food – but for other reasons. I refrained myself only for… Not because I was afraid of the heights (Just like what Lodukku Pandi says in Vasool Raja MBBS – “Illa na, khonjham height-a irukku-a, slip aiyduveno-nu oru bayam, namakkku height oththukkathu! 40000feet above sea level) Nay! That was not the reason; it was the paper that scared me. Silly Indian, you might think, yes I’m. Had grown up there and old habits die hard!
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